Mirko Valdifiori is in: Napoli agree €5 million transfer fee for Empoli midfielder

It looks like Napoli's first transfer of the summer is lined up, after the club agreed a transfer fee with Empoli for midfielder Mirko Valdifiori, a deal that will cost Napoli a reported €5 million.

Valdifiori, 29, is the man who orchestrated things in midfield for new Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri over the last three years, and performed well enough in his first Serie A campaign to earn a callup to the Italian national team for the first time in March. The report from La Gazzetta dello Sport indicates that he's passed his medical, Valdifiori is set to sign a four year deal in Naples for less than €1 million per season, which still represents a healthy boost in what he's made in the past.

While Valdifiori isn't any kind of hidden gem superstar, he's a solid enough player who understands how Sarri wants his midfield to work. That has a lot of value in and of itself since the squad's tactics will be changing markedly, and even if he's not an every match starter, Valdifiori can do a lot of good to help the team's transition.

This might not be the only deal with Empoli we hear about in the coming days -- Napoli are believed to be in active, as-this-is-being-typed-on-Wednesday-night negotiations with Empoli over not just Valdifiori, but for Elseid Hysaj and Riccardo Saponara as well. The fact that one fee has already been agreed and that the agents of all three players are believed to be in attendance suggests that these talks are very serious. They've been productive so far, so perhaps the earlier reports of Napoli wanting all three players will come to fruition.